Old Review Storage

Tag: 3rd wave

Ahhhhhh yeah, the soothing sounds of the 3rd wave of ska. Say what you want, but the mesh of distortion, horns, and pop sensibilities with the upstroked, unity-filled, jumped up Kingston-come-London of two-tone really floats my boat. Droppin’ The Deuce, new from Florida ska act, Bargain Bin Heroes is currently the ska water keeping my boat afloat.

The new “EP” provides eight tracks (and a bonus) of fun-filled good times. I can wax nostalgic all day about this I suppose: Sounds of Mustard Plug, Buck O Nine, MU330, LTJ, and the rest fill my ears and it puts me at ease. I don’t want to pigeonhole the sound or any such thing, as all bands bring their own dynamic to any given genre they pursue. Bargain Bin Heroes are no exception. They’ve got their own take on what is now a fairly venerated sound.

All the tunes are performed abely, and the sound is tight, but not restrictive. Evidently this EP was mastered by Roger Lima. (whom I’m sure you’re familiar with) I’m certainly in favor of the more peppy of the lot. Track 4 “Coming Home” is a personal favorite. It’s a bit more uptempo and has a nice bounce to it.

Bottom line is that if you are in any way a fan of 3rd Wave Ska, please do yourself a favor and check out Bargain Bin Heroes.

Cheers!

Jerry Actually

Bio:
Bargain Bin Heroes is a high energy Punk/Ska (and Touch of Reggae ) band from Fort Myers, FL.

We formed in the summer of 2014,And have played all over the state of Florida ,and performed with acts such as Mustard Plug, The Independents, Unwritten Law, Fenix Tx, Mephiskapheles,
Whole Wheat Bread, UNRB, Victims Of Circumstance, and many more local and touring bands.

We released our first self titled EP in fall of 2015 and quickly gained a strong following playing as many shows as possible. Fast Forward to 2018 and Bargain Bin Heroes is gearing up to release their follow up EP Titled “Droppin’ The Deuce” recorded in their home town and mastered by Roger Lima Of Less Than Jake. Droppin’ The Deuce is eight tracks of punk,ska,and reggae goodness.

I’m pleased to report that one of my long time favorite ska bands is back at it with new music. Sound Salvation, the first new material in nearly 20 years will be premiered at the “CINCO DE JACKO RECORD RELEASE FIESTA LOCO !!” … I seriously wish I could attend.

You know what I miss? Ska. Maybe because it was foundational in my youth and I pine for the long gone days, or more likely because ska is full on awesome, I miss ska. Thankfully I have a mailbox that occasionally gets laced with some of the good stuff. What do I have here (hear) you might ask. Well what I have is a brand new CD, Creation Sounds from Ruder Than You. This Philly ska band has been bustin’ it since back ’89 at Penn State. Eight great tracks of pick it up, dit dit dit, horn laden ska. For the uninitiated, ska music was invented by future robots that came back to the past disguised as Dutch colonists to the island for Grenada. After they invented the bicycle they grew bored and started ska bands. Ok, no really, there is a reasonably apt history of Ska on Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ska The jazz and calypso roots are unmistakable on Creation Sounds as is the love of music. Honestly I’m at a small loss for words, but I want to bring you the honest truth (in so far as I perceive it) I’m not as stoked on this as I would be a new MU330 disc, but I’m pretty damn pleased. Support your local ska band ladies and gents, and local or not, support ska by (buy) getting a copy of Creation Sounds new to you from Ruder Than You!

Lets hear it once again for New Jersey. From the state that gives you Catch 22 and Streetlight Manifesto, may I present The Waffle Stompers. This seven piece outfit–straight outta New Brunswick–brings an infectious blend of ska and punk that makes me wax nostalgic for the 3rd wave. Sounding like a Thomas Kalnoky protoge with a mix of old LTJ, Black on Black is a fun, albeit short, walk through the ska punk park. This is the band’s 3rd EP since 2005 and though I don’t have any reference to the prior material, I really like what I’m hearing on the new release. On another continual note, bands that both rock and rock for fun and unity are all good in my book. Head on over to their myspace page and buy some of their stuff, ok. The Waffle Stompers